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In microgrids (MGs), energy management systems (EMSs) have been using increasingly detailed models of generation units, loads, and networks to make decisions on the power/energy contribution of each available unit to meet the electrical energy demand. This work aims to investigate the use of digital twins (DT) of small productive processes (SPPs) to regulate endogenous process variables to ensure final product quality, while the expected power consumption is estimated and communicated to the EMS so that it can make its decisions on the participation of each power source in meeting the electrical energy demand. The literature review reveals that this is one of the first attempts, in the context of MGs, to generate DT for SPPs that combine not only the electrical energy consumption, but also link it with the energy/mass balances taking place in the SPPs, highlighting the complexity that SPPs have as electrical loads. The results demonstrate that environmental conditions significantly influence the final electrical consumption of the SPPs. Additionally, the MG exhibits better economic performance when the SPP DT supports EMS decision-making, which is of great importance in MGs due to the special conditions they have for electric power generation, being more challenging in isolated MGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high penetration of renewables envisaged for future power systems will significantly increase the need for flexible operational measures and generation technologies, whose associated investment decisions must be properly planned in the long term. To achieve this, expansion models will need to incorporate unit commitment constraints, which can result in large scale MILP problems that require significant computational resources to be solved. In this context, this paper proposes a novel Dantzig–Wolfe decomposition and a column generation approach to reduce the computational burden and overcome intractability. We demonstrate through multiple case studies that the proposed approach outperforms direct application of commercial solvers, significantly reducing both computational times and memory usage. Using the Chilean power system as a reference case, we also confirm and highlight the importance of considering unit commitment constraints in generation expansion models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyse the economy-wide implications of a carbon tax applied on the Chilean electricity generation sector. In order to analyse the macroeconomic impacts, both an energy sectorial model and a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium model have been used. During the year 2014 a carbon tax of 5 US$/tCO2e was approved in Chile. This tax and its increases (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 US$/tCO2e) are evaluated in this article. The results show that the effectiveness of this policy depends on some variables which are not controlled by policy makers, for example, non-conventional renewable energy investment cost projections, natural gas prices, and the feasibility of exploiting hydroelectric resources. For a carbon tax of 20 US$/tCO2e, the average annual emission reduction would be between 1.1 and 9.1 million tCO2e. However, the price of the electricity would increase between 8.3 and 9.6 US$/MWh. This price shock would decrease the annual GDP growth rate by a maximum amount of 0.13%. This article compares this energy policy with others such as the introduction of non-conventional renewable energy sources and a sectorial cap. The results show that the same global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction can be obtained with these policies, but the impact on the electricity price and GDP are lower than that of the carbon tax. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High penetration of distributed generation (DG) resources is increasingly observed worldwide. The evolution of this process in each country highly depends on the cost of traditional technologies, market design, and promotion programs and subsidies. Nevertheless, as this trend accelerates, higher levels of penetration will be achieved and, in turn, a competitive market integration of DG will be needed for an adequate development of the power sector. This paper proposes a competitive market integration mechanism for DG in a pool-based system. The mechanism encompasses both energy and capacity payment procedures in the wholesale market with DG units located at the distribution level. The proposed model is validated for the current Chilean regulation framework and extended to more general market structures. The model can be considered a novel development on the design of competitive markets for DG resources, which are still dominated by subsidies/compensation schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]